Tuesday Grace Letters

One of the things my favorite author/blogger Kara Tippetts did on her blog for a while was called Tuesday Grace Letters. Tuesday Grace Letters is something Kara challenged her readers to do on their blogs. Every Tuesday she and other bloggers would write letters about grace. I'm a little late to the game, as usual, but I decided to give it a try. The first assignment was to write a letter to yourself in 10 years, and to include as many pictures of today as possible. (A side note, Mochi and Mushi are only nicknames)

Dear 2025,

I'm not sure what I will be doing with my life when you come around, but I hope that by the time you arrive, I'll be able to have friends that are willing to partner with me on this narrow road of faith. I don't have many now, but I hope you'll introduce me to some. I pray that I would never abandon my faith even as my life gets busier and busier.

Irena, you're probably my closest friend. 2025 will find you 26. To be completely honest, that is a scary thought. We always joke to each other about how old we feel when we're around people who are significantly younger. Even though we may feel old, the truth is, we're still pretty young and have a lot of life ahead of us. You are very driven and ambitious, and I love that. I wish I could be as motivated. Even though life will get busy, especially as you grow older, I hope you'll be able to slow down and be able to enjoy the little things in life. When disappointments come and you feel like you're worthless, I pray you'll be able to turn away from the things of this world to find your worth and learn to pursue your true identity in Christ. Seeing you hurting brings back flashbacks of my disappointments and makes me reflect on my past hard. I wish I didn't have to say this, but there will be more disappointments as life rolls on. I know you don't fully trust in God yet, but I pray that you will soon. I see your heart slowly softening towards Christ and I hope that one day we'll be able to stand together as sisters in the faith. Maybe that day will have passed by the time you read this as your 2025 self, maybe not. I'll just have to trust in God's timing.

Emily and Justine, my two best friends from childhood. 2025 will mark 23 years of friendship (I think, at least). As the years pass, we see each other less and less. I hope this trend doesn't continue. I want to be able to keep our friendship as time goes by. I love how when we hang out, we always have a good time together. You guys are both very artistic and creative. Don't lose that. My prayer for you two is that you'll both be able to come to know Christ by 2025. We have been friends for so long, I don't want to lose our friendship for all eternity when you two won't be there for me to greet in Heaven. I hope that we'll be able to continue our friendship in Heaven long after our earthly lives are over.

Emma, I've only known you for roughly 2 years, but I've learned so much about you in such a short amount of time. This past Sunday I entrusted The Hardest Peace to you. I hope by sharing Kara's story with you, you'll be able to come to know and love her like I have. I don't know how 2025 will test your faith, but I pray you may be able to stand firm in the truth of the gospel. I hope we'll still be able to be love each other well once 2025 hits.

CC, it's been a while since we talked. The day you moved still feels like yesterday even though it happened last summer. I miss the summer days you spent with David and me at our house. I still have vivid memories of them, and I wish we could make more. I love your enthusiasm, your willingness to always share with others, and the fact that we both share a love for Pokemon. We haven't talked at all since we parted ways after the retreat. I hope that even with the distance between us, we would still keep our friendship. Come and visit everyone again before your 23rd birthday in 2025. We all really miss you.

Mochi, you'll be 22 in 2025. You are incredibly smart, so I expect that you will be almost done with college when 2025 comes around. I know you are a very ambitious girl that wants to learn as much as you can. You have so many opportunities ahead of you. I pray you may be able to trust your community to speak truth to you as you make big decisions for your future. Even with all your busyness, I pray that you'll be able to quiet down once in a while and reflect on all of God's goodness and grace in your life. Every time I see you I can find the many blessing that Jesus has bestowed upon you. I hope you'll be able to see those too. I pray that no matter what you do with your life, you'll be able to do it without a lot of stress and for God's Kingdom.

Jess, you will also be 22 in 2025. I've love seeing the friendship that has blossomed between you and Mochi. When you two entered middle school, I was worried that you and Mochi would grow farther away from each other. I'm so relieved that the opposite is happening. I hope your friendship will continue to grow as you two walk through your middle school and high school years together. Close friends are vital for the rollercoaster-like journey of the future ahead of you.

David, my dear brother. 2025 marks your 21st birthday. Just because I am me, I get slightly panicky when I see that number since that is the legal drinking age. To be completely honest, I'm not sure if I'm confident enough to see you set out into the world as an independent one day. But like I keep telling myself, a lot can happen in a year. Maybe you'll have matured a lot by 2025 and I'll be able to see you become a responsible young man of God. A few weeks ago, as someone from church was praying over you, they said that you were a blessing to our family. I'm sorry, I still can't help but cringe a bit when those words run through my mind. Luckily, God has granted me the grace to start to see the joy you bring to our family. I know it's not easy being the middle child, but learn to embrace the blessing of being in the middle. Even though I've never been a middle child, I'm sure you'll be able to reap the benefits of being one everyday.

Ella, everyday I see you growing more and more gentle. I also love how much you're willing to serve others. You'll be turning 19 in 2025. I pray that even with you trying to establish your footing in a new environment during the beginning of your college years, you will hold on to the truths of the gospel. They will guide you as you navigate through choosing a career path that you will enjoy the rest of your life. Keep loving others in your servant-hearted ways as we get closer and closer to 2025.

Mushi, you'll be celebrating 18 years in 2025. I have a more vivid mindset of you in 10 years than most everyone else in this letter because I am very close to that age. I hope by 2025, you'll be able to have an idea of what you want to do in your future so you can focus your college education on that career path. As you graduate from high school and start a new chapter of your life in 2025, I hope you'll be able to remain devoted to your faith as you fly away to college and an independent life. Don't lose the valuable life lessons your parents have instilled in you throughout your childhood.

And last but not least, little Eian. You'll be 14 in 2025. Like Mushi, 2025 will find you in a new chapter of your life. I remember my freshman year. It was an intricate dance as I learned to balance all the new responsibilities and freedoms that comes with being in high school. You are a very strong minded individual that always has an opinion about everything. I hope you'll be able to use your stubbornness to be a voice for God's kingdom and not to pursue your own will.

To all the other kids of my church community, I hope we'll be able to maintain the relationships we've built after many of us have left home to pursue an education after high school. I love our community. I would hate for it to disperse in 2025 when the majority of us have grown up.

From a very blessed friend and sister,
Yahan

Phew. That was long. Next week's grace letter is to someone who has changed my story for the better because of the love they have shown. (Some of you may already know who I'm writing to. If you do, please don't reveal it. I don't want to spoil it for those who may not know.)